Cities: Skylines 2 is coming in 2023 on PC and consoles

Paradox promises “most realistic city builder ever”

Marco Wutz | Mar 7, 2023

Cities: Skylines 2 is coming in 2023 on PC and consoles /

Paradox Interactive has announced Cities: Skylines 2, the sequel to Colossal Order’s hugely successful city builder from 2015. Launching for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S sometime in 2023, Cities: Skylines 2 is promised to be the “most realistic city builder ever” by Paradox.

“Create and manage your own city without restrictions. Offering a deep simulation and a living economy, Cities: Skylines 2 will challenge your decision-making skills and allow you to build the cities of your dreams,” the official description reads.

The announcement trailer also features the Xbox Game Pass logo, so Cities: Skylines 2 might be another launch day title for Microsoft’s subscription service.

The official description continues: “Here your city will evolve and react to your decisions. A dynamic and ever-changing world that is both challenging and rewarding. Use your creativity and strategic planning skills to grow your city into a thriving metropolis that will attract businesses, residents, and tourists alike. From residential neighborhoods to bustling downtowns, the possibilities are endless. Navigate through the complexities of running a city and keep up with the needs and demands of your citizens. See your city grow and transform over time. With stunning graphics that are as beautiful as they are detailed, Cities: Skylines 2 will bring your city to life.”

Cities: Skylines came out at the perfect time in 2015 to capitalize on the disappointing launch of EA’s SimCity two years prior, which had left city builder fans craving for a better experience. It sold over 12 million copies by June 2022, was expanded with 13 official DLCs, and also featured mod support, which greatly enhanced the longevity of the title and people’s enjoyment with it.

That breadth of content also means that Cities: Skylines 2 likely won’t release with as much meat on its bones as the final state of its predecessor – a conundrum that players of strategy games like Civilization and Crusader Kings know all too well.

Published Mar 7, 2023

MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg